Moslim uit China fietst maanden om op Hadj te gaan

A Muslim man from China cycled for four months to make his way to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj.

Mohammed reportedly left his home in Xinjiang, in northwest China, and cycled 5,070 miles before arriving in the Saudi city of Taif, where he received a special welcome by the local cycling club.

Following a brief stay in the city, he was accompanied by members of the Taif cycling club to Makkah, Saudi news site Sabq reported.

“We were the first cycling club in Saudi Arabia to welcome the Chinese rider and we look forward to other clubs reaching out to him and introducing him to their cities,” Nayef Al Rawas, the head of the Taif club told Sabq.

On Saturday, China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) said that 14,500 Chinese Muslims would perform Hajj this year.

China has by Friday sent 37 charter flights to carry Chinese Muslims for Hajj, and a total of 11,000 Chinese pilgrims have already arrived in Makkah, Xinhua News Agency said.

Despite very difficult challenges, the idea of cycling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj or Umrah had often been taken up by Muslims, mainly from Asia.

In May 2014, a group of Malaysians rode their bicycles from Kuala Lumpur to Madina.

The 12 men left from the Malaysian capital and made their way on eight motorbikes and a small van across 12 countries with stops in 53 cities.